Automatic window sash operating mechanism



April 4, 1944, c. c. GARDNER AUTOMATIC WINDOW SASH OPERATING MECHANISMFiled Aug. 18, 1941 Patented Apr. 4, 1944 2,345,594 soromric wmnow SASHOPERATING mzcnmsm Clair C. Gardner, ltockforfl, Ill. Application August18, 1941, Serial No. 407,284

6 Claims.

sash operating mechanism.

The principal object of my invention is to provide a power operatedwindow operating plunger rod attached to the bottom rail ofthe sash onthe longitudinal center line thereof, this arrangement having theimportant advantages of, first, freedom from a tendency for the sash tobind, that being common where the sash has thrust applied oil! center,and, second, substantially complete concealment of the operating meanswhen the window is closed, as distinguished from the many unsightlydevices which have been tofore and which were too conspicuous.

The salient feature of the mechanism of my invention consists in theprovision of a reversible electric motor more or less directly connectedthrough reduction gearing with the plunger rod on the sash, themechanism being concealed in a housing in the wail under the sill, themotor having electrically connected therewith a double throw switch anda single throw switch, the latter being normally closed, these switchesbeing operable automatically by two projections on the plunger rod invertically spaced relation to one another, the lower one being arrangedto operate only the double throw switch at the upper limit of movementto reverse the motor, and the upper one being arranged to operate bothswitches at the lower limit of movement so as to stop the motor onlywhen the window is fully closed. The upper projection is adjustable todififerent positions in vertically spaced relation on the plunger rod,and the two switches are also vertically adjustable 4 relative to theirsupporting brackets in the housing so that the precise timing desired iseasily obtained and the motor will not stop until the window is fullyclosed.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which-Figure 1 is an inner elevation of a window sash shown supported in anopen position by a power operated plunger rod forming part of anoperating mechanism made in accordance with my invention, the housingcontaining said mechanism being indicated below the sill with the doortherefor open to better illustrate the mechanism;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the mechanism on a larger scale;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the mechanism with the plunger rodappearing in cross-section;

Figs. 4 and 5 are two detail views of a portion of the plunger rodillustrating the adjustable upper projection; and

Fig. 6 is a wiring diagram.

proposed here Theoperationis as the thrust is transmitted bearing ismounted in the bottom of (Cl. 268-124) This invention relates to anautomatic window The same reference numerals are applied tocorresponding parts throughout the views.

In Fig. 1 the sash I is of conventional design adapted to slidevertically within channels in the frame 8. A plunger rod 9 having rackteeth l0 along one side thereof is fixed at its upper end to the middleof the bottom cross-rail I l in any suitable manner, as by entering theupper end of the rod into a hole in the cross-rail and suitabl securingit therein as by means of a pin l2. A vertical hole i3 is provided inthe sill i4 tor the rod in to reciprocate vertically inside the wall Has the sash l is raised and lowered. A housing i6 is provided in thewall beneath the sill i4 and contains the reversible shaded poleelectric motor H for power operation of the rod 9 to raise or lower thewindow under power. A pinion i8 meshes with the rack teeth l0 and iskeyed or otherwise suitably fixed on the horizontal shaft is mounted inbearings 20 and 2! suitably supported the housing it. The shaft 59 isdriven through reduction gears 22 and 22' from the armature shaft 23 ofthe motor ii! and is easily sufiicient to carry the load imposed thereonby the sash l and rod smooth and quiet, and inasmuch directly along thelongitudinal center line of the sash, there no tendency for the sash tochatter and bind, the sash being in balanced relation to the rod 9. Therod 9 is guided for operation in proper clearance relationship tothe'pinion l8 by a channel-shaped the housing 56 on the opposite side ofthe rod 9 from the pinion it, as shown. There are two other advantagesin having the rod 9 located in the middle and projecting downwardly fromthe bottom cross-rail of the sash, one being that it afiords a certainmeasure of protection against burglars entering the house through theopen window, there being hardly enough room left on either side of therod for such entry and the rod preventing raising of the window byreason of its reduction gearing connectionwith the motor, and the otheradvan -tage being that when the window is closed the rod 1'! is a wellknown snap action type. ring pressed normally toward closed position butadapted to be opened by depression of its leaf spring actuating arm 29.The lever 28 has a ball-shaped free end 30 which fits freely in alongitudinal groove 3| provided in the side of the rod 3, 90 removedfrom the rack ill. The arm 23 has an L-shaped free end portion 32. whichalso projects freely into the groove 3i above the ball end 3ll of thelever 23. Now, the groove 3! terminates short of the lower end of therod 3, as indicated in Fig. 2, so as to raise the lever 28 at the upperlimit movement of the switch, whereby to swing the lever 28 upwardly toreverse the motor I! for downward movement or the sash. The lower end ofthe groove, therefore, provides one of two vertically spaced projectionson the rod 9 for operation of the switches 28 and, 2!, the otherprojection being a screw 33 which is entered in a selected one of aplurality of holes 3i provided in the bottom of the groove 33invertioally spaced relation relative to the rod 3 inthe upper portionof said rod. The groove 3i may therefore extend to the upper end of therod 9, inasmuch as the screw 33 will determine by its location in thegroove the point at which the lever 28 and arm 29 will be forceddownwardly in the downward movement of the sash to stop the motor 11 andbring the switch 26 to a reverse position for subsequent upward movementof the sash. The switches 26 and 21 will require careful verticaladjustment so that the motor ll will be stopped when the window isexactly fully closed, and such fine adjustment is easily obtained by theadjustable mounting of the switch 26 on a bracket 35 and the adjustablemounting of the switch 21 on another bracket 36. The bracket 35 has avertical slot 37 therein through which the threaded shank 38 on the bodyof the switch 26 projects, and this shank has nuts 39' threaded thereonto be tightened against opposite sides of the bracket to secure theswitch 26 in any desired position of vertical adjustment. The bracket 38has a vertical slot 49 provided therein through which the shank of a.screw M extends for threaded engagement in the body of the switch 21,and in that way theswitch 27 may be clamped on the bracket in adjustedposition by tightening the screw M. The holes 3% the lower end of thegroove 3|. The switch 27 is indicated in this view as having a spring stending normally to close the same, and inasmuch as this switch is movedto open position only at the limit of downward movement of the plungerand is otherwise closed, the rod 9 is indicated, for the purpose of thediagrammatic showing, as hold-- me the switch open against the action ofthe spring s. For further control of the motor ii, a manually operableswitch 42 is shown in Fig. 6 and also a timer-operated switch at 3, atimer being indicated diagrammatically at It, with a movable contact armfor closing the switch 43 at a predetermined time for which the timermay be set. Line terminals are indicated at 45 tor connection with thesource or electric currentsupply.

In operation, assuming that the window is closed, as indicated in thediagram Fig. 6 by the fact that the switch 21 is held open, the operatormay set the window in an open position by closing the switch 42 andholding it closed long enough to bring the window to the desiredposition. The motor [I will stop when the operator opens the switch 42.Assuming that the timer M has been set for closing the window at a laterhour, let us say seven o'clock in the morning, the window will underthese conditions remain open until the appointed hour, at which time theswitch (335 closed, thereby causing the motor ll to operate so as tocomplete the cycle, the first part of which was taken care of theevening before. That is to say, if the window was raised only half wayby the manual closing and opening of the switch 42, the motor H tocomplete the cycle must first raise the window therest of the way, so asto cause reversal of the switch 26 before the downwardmovementcommences, and then when the window is finally closed, the switch 21 isthrown back again to the position shown in Fig. 6, simultaneously withthe opening of the switch 21. In that way the mechanism is left incondition for the start of another cycle.

It is believed the foregoing description conveys a good understanding ofthe objects and advantages of my invention. The appended claims havebeen drawn to cover all legitimate modifications and adaptations.

I claim: I

1. In a window sash operating mechanism of the character described, areciprocable sash supporting and circuit controlling member adapted oneextreme position and for movement of said lever in the oppositedirection when said circuit controlling member reaches its other extremeposition, and a relay switch for auxiliary control of said electricmotor driven means normally biased in one direction toward closedcircuit position but having an actuating part also extending into thegroove with the aforesaid lever to be moved to open circuit positionwhen the circuit controlling member reaches one of its extremepositions.

2. A window sash operating mechanism as set forth in claim 1 including aprojection mounted in relation to the movement of the circuitcontrolling member to its one limit position, said projection beingadjustable step by step relative to said member, and said switches beinginfinitely adjustable within small limits on supporting meanslongitudinally with respect to said groove. v

4. A device of the class described, comprising a substantially verticalrod element adapted for attachment to a gravitating window sash movablein a window frame, said rod element disposed substantially vertically onthe true longitudinal center-line of the sash and frame and in thecentra1 plane of the sash, so that the 1011-, gitudinal center-line ofthe rod element when extended passes through the center of gravity ofthe sash, said rod element being attached to the lower end of the sashand arranged to be supported on the frame to hold the sash in an openposition against its normal tendency to close, said rod having alongitudinally extending groove provided in one side thereof and a rackformed in another side thereof, and mechanism on the frame for operatingthe rod up and down, comprising a pinion meshing with the, rack andmounted on a shaft supported in stationary bearings, electric motordriven means for driving said shaft selectively in either direction, areversing switch having an oscillatable actuating lever projecting intothe aforesaid groove for movement of the lever in one direction when thecircuit controlling member reaches one extreme position and for movementof said lever in the opposite direction when said circuit controllingmember reaches its other extreme position, and a relay switch forauxiliary control of said electric motor driven means normally biased inone direction toward closed circuit position but having an actuatingpart also extending into the groove with the aforesaid lever to be movedto open circuit position when the circuit controlling member reaches oneof its extreme positions.

5. A device as set forth in claim 4, including a projection mounted onthe circuit controlling member for adjustment lengthwise relative to thegroove to advance or retard the operation of said switches in relationto the movement oi. the circuit controlling member to its one limitposition.

6. A device as set forth in claim 4, including a projection mounted onthe circuit controlling member for adjustment lengthwise witl. respectto said groove to advance or retard the operation of said switches inrelation to the movement of the circuit controlling member to its onelimit position, said projection being adjustable step by step relativeto said member,

and said switche being infinitely adjustable within small limits onsupporting means longitudinally with respect to said groove.

CLAIR C. GARDNER.

